Hi everyone, Dalis here to give you a Hybrid Designer Spotlight/ Product Review.  Have you tried making a hybrid project before?  Are you intimidated by the sample (or samples) showcased in the kit?  Did you know that Krisi’s Kreations templates include a PDF line file version (when indicated)?  What does that mean to the not so experienced hybrid gal?  That you don’t have to deal w/ layers  or matching sides.  You can just put a piece of colored cardstock in your printer and print the outline of the box and create a wonderful Hybrid project without having to open your image software.

Let’s take the “Not Straight Up: Hybrid Boxes” template from Krisi’s Kreations.  You notice the wonderful creation she did, well she used all the wonderful layers and power of Photoshop to make it… but look a little farther down… my sample is as cute but I just opened her PDF file and printed the outline to purple cardstock.

This is a simple way to get your feet wet with Hybrid Projects starting with baby steps!  Try one of her templates today and let the Hybrid world open it’s doors for you!

[inter]National Scrapbooking Day – or iNSD is this weekend!! We’ve got SOOOO much planned, I hope you are planning to spend the weekend with us here at ScrapMatters.

Here’s the schedule of events:

Friday (4/30)
* Sale begins (40% off regular items, 30% CU items – Fri-Sun)
* SM Designers’ Grab Bags released
* Mega Collab. Kit from SM Deisgns – FREE with any purchase of $20 or more.
* In addition. you can get a coordinatingHybrid Printables pack FREE with any purchase of $30 or more.
* Kick Off “Fireside Chat” (hosted by Britt) at 8:30 pm MOUNTAIN TIME (lots of prizes to be won!)

Saturday (5/1)
* Blog Train begins 7:00 am Mountain Time
* Forum Games begin
* Queen of Scrap Kicks Off (more details to come!)
* Daytime Speed Scrap hosted by Emilee – 11:30 am Mountain Time
* Evening Speed Scrap hosted by Tanya – 7:00 PM Mountain Time

Sunday (5/2)
* last day of the big discount sale
* “Sunrise Chat” (hosted by Chelle) 7:00 am Mountain Time
* Forum Games continue

Monday – Thursday (5/3 – 5/6)
* 30% off regular items, 20% off CU items.
* FWP continues

It’s going to be a rip-roarin’ weekend!! I can’t wait to see you all there!!!

Come check out the new iNSD board in our forum so you don’t miss a thing!!

It’s Tuesday Template time! Wendy here with another template! There is no specific theme or set of rules for today’s template, just have fun!! Use the template as is, or switch it up…it’s all up to you!

Here is the template:

Here’s *MY* LO:

Credits: “What Say” by Erica Zane
“Just The Basics – Cardstock” by WM[squared] Designs

Here is some inspiration from the ScrapMatters CT/DT:

Layout By: jeffsamber

Credits: Arabian Nights  by Britt-ish Designs

Layout By:nanienamou

Layout By:  alansrock

Credits: Play the Game & Slam Dunk kits by Chelle’s Creations

Layout By: cursivesmile

Feel inspired? Good! Now go download the template –>> HERE and lemme see what ya got! I’ve included both the .psd and .png files for you!

The “Fine Print” aka the Matter of Scrap Challenge rules:

You have the rest of April *AND* all of May  to complete the layout! Upload it to the gallery, and leave BOTH the image and a link in the challenge forum–>> HERE!

You will receive one point for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a new product from the ScrapMatters store (PLEASE indicate you have used something new when you leave us the link in the forum), and one lucky winner will receive one more point – I will be doing a random draw!

Remember, no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

Happy Scrapping!!

Wendy

“How do you eat an elephant?”

One bite at a time.

I thought that it was time to revisit the topic of organizing our digi-files. If you’re anything like me, you probably take a lot of photos. Maybe even so many that you have a hard time managing them. You know that you have that photo of that special event… somewhere. Since you never got around to sorting, editing and filing it you have no clue as to where it is. And your pile of un-filed digi-pics is so overwhelming that it‘s turned into one big huge elephant. Sound familiar?

So, just how do you tackle that huge digi-mountain you‘ve created without going insane? One byte at a time. (heh heh)

Enter the Fly Lady. If you’ve never heard of her, please follow the link and see what she’s all about. In a nutshell, the FlyLady helps us learn how to “set up routines, get rid of your clutter, and put your home and life in order” since “you cannot organize clutter – you can only organize the things you love!” And the way you do it is in baby steps, a little bit at a time. My favorite FlyLady tip is the 27-fling boogie. You set aside fifteen minutes to declutter, going through your rooms and tossing 27 things that you don’t use or need anymore. And you can apply the same process to your e-pics, too.

Set aside 15 minutes a day to begin sorting through your photographs. Start by removing the card from your camera(s) and getting them into your computer. Then it’s time for a quick sort. Look through the photos, keeping the good and flinging out the bad. Remove any that are out of focus, cropped wrong, duplicates, or that you just don’t like. Don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on a single photo – look, make a decision, and move on. That means no photo editing! You can edit all you want when it’s time to use or print the photo.

Next, place each photo in the proper file(s) so you’ll know how to find it later on. Which program should to use? It’s up to you. I use Memory Manager 3.0, where I can place the same photo into as many file folders as I wish, then retrieve what I need with the click of my mouse.

If you do this every day this week you will have spent one hour 45 minutes on the project, most likely more than you had done the week before. Keep it up and it will turn into 7 hours over 4 weeks, and so on. Every little bit counts when it comes to eating that elephant, and pretty soon it will be gone. Once completed you can then move onto more detailed filing and editing.  But just think of how good you will feel when it’s done. The key is to sort, toss and file. And make a promise to yourself to do this every time you upload new photos to your computer. You’ll be glad you did!

It becomes harder and harder to choose a LOTW as there is just sooooo much awesome talent on this website.

I chose “Bloom”  by kistal1027 because it just took my breath away. Gorgeous clustering and what a cute set of little peeps!!! Love this layout. Make sure you click the image and leave her tons of love on this beautiful layout!!

Head on over to the gallery or the forum and leave her some love!! Congrats!!

-Terin (scrappyfrog)

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing one of our wonderful members here at SM, Froggie (Susan).  Let just get right to it!

1. Your screen name, of course, attracted me since I’m a frog collector…how did you come up with your screen name “froggie?” and what is your real name?
I love frogs – I’ve never thought they were gross- as a kid I loved searching for them, and now I collect them – my rule is anything I collect must be something useful – i don’t just want a frog figurine – it must do something -so I have photo holders, salt/pepper shakers, light covers . . .etc. I love frogs! my real name is Susan Yeiter (you can see how froggie is much better)

2. What is your main job/career? My family and I are missionaries in Cameroon, West Africa. So I homeschool 3 kids, teach 3 moral instruction classes each week, teach a course in a Ladies Bible Institute, teach Sunday school, and play piano for Church

3. Are you married/children/pets? I’ve been married to my highschool sweetheart, Matt, who I met in 6th grade- for almost 11 years, and we have 4 children- Autumn(8), Mariah (6), DJ(4) and Trinity (2). In addition to that crew we have: crook(dog), sprinkle(cat), murdock(african grey parrot) and tick(cameleon). We have a lot of fun together!

4. Where is home for you? We hail from Indianapolis IN, but have lived in Cameroon for 5 years now!

5. What are your 3 favorite foods (besides flies!!)? mashed potatoes, pizza, chinese!!

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? super dark chocolate with nuts and choc. chunks
7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet?SALTY

8. Beverage of choice? ROOT BEER!

9. What’s your least favorite food? LIMA BEANS/MUSHROOMS

 10.  PC or Mac?  What program do you use?  pc, photoshop CS3

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? I started digi scrapping in June 2009, a friend – the one who introduced me to paper scrapping, introduced me to digi scrapping- maybe you know her – Becca1976!

12. What was your 1st LO about? hmmm
first layout – it’s been made better- but it’s basically the first one I did:

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? I love playing piano, reading, running, playing video games, cross-stitching

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? being creative – making each layout unique – that’s why I love scrapping challenges – they really get you out of the box and thinking of new ideas!

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?c ook – I have to cook from scratch every day and I’m always learning new things – I’d like to continue learning how to make all that great food out there from scratch!

16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? CSI – love it. Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken – best movie EVER

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where? I love to curl up on the couch with my laptop, an icewater or ice tea close by, piano music in the background, no kids (like THAT ever happens!)- sorry I was dreaming there for a moment

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be? stiches, doodled paper blocks

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? In 1999 I was blown over by an airplane and I lived to tell about it

20. Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style? I want to get as many photos as possible about what I’m scrapping about on my page – I’ve had to learn that 1 and 2 photo layouts are nice -dead space it’s against my nature, but I’m learning it can be nice -I’m loving scrapping old pics of me growing up – and look forward to scrapping some of my parents growing up too (if I can get them to figure out that scanner-thing they have!)

21. Favorite LOs that you have done?

Thanks Froggie for letting us get to know more about you and your family!!  Check out her awesome gallery here!

-Terin (scrappyfrog)

Okay, so I will be the first to admit that my photography skills are somewhat…lacking. The intention is there to take stunning photos every time I click my camera; unfortunately, my execution is not always up to par.

Luckily, I have learned a few easy tricks to add some flare to my photos – one of which is how to create a photo vignette. While there are quite a few methods you could use to accomplish this, today I am going to share the technique I use most often.

A vignette is, simply put, a photo whose edges gradually fade into a single colored-background. There are many color variations and shapes to a vignette, but they are most commonly seen in black, brown, or white and occur in an oval shape. The thing I love about vignettes is the class, elegance, and sophistication they add to a photo. You can make them subtle or more dramatic, depending on the overall effect you desire.

For today’s tutorial, I will be working with Corel Paintshop Pro X2. My screen prints may look a little different than other programs but the overall concept is basically the same.

First, select your photo. It is best if you create a copy of the photo to work from so as not to damage or destroy the original picture.

Second, create a new layer over the photo and flood fill using whatever color you prefer. In the Layer Properties, change the blend mode from “normal” to “overlay.” I also change the opacity to 60 so that I can see the photo a little better during the next step (don’t worry – you can change the opacity back later for a more dramatic vignette or keep it lighter for a more subtle effect).

Third, select the eraser tool. Change the eraser to a soft edge round brush, increase the size (anywhere from 150 to 500), and lower the brush opacity (anywhere from 75 down to 15)…it really is a matter of personal preference. Now, just brush the eraser across the overlay layer, centering on where you want to focus on the photo.

Sometimes, to help the fading effect of the vignette, I will add a second overlay layer at a higher opacity. I will erase a larger portion out of the second overlay, which (I think) helps to better blend in the vignette.

Continue erasing, blending, and changing the opacity until you are happy with the finished vignette.

Don’t forget to save your new photo using the Save As (F12) feature to avoid altering the original picture (in case you are like me and tend to work from the original rather than a copy as suggested in Step 1).

You can also save your vignette for future use by simply deleting the photo layer, adding a new layer, changing the layer to non-visible, moving to the bottom of the layer stack, and saving the file in PNG format.

The more comfortable you become with this technique the more variations you can try – such as shape-cutting and feathering. Take some time to experiment with different color backgrounds to see which ones best compliment your photo. Try out different opacity and brush settings and you will be amazed at the various vignette affects you can create in just a few minutes!

I hope today’s little post helped show you how easy it can be to add this wonderful effect to your photographs. And I hope, even more so, that you are as happy as I am with the results! Here is the layout I created using my vamped up photo (using the beautiful EZ Breezy by Erica Zane):

I absolutely cannot wait to see what you all have in store for me after today’s tutorial, but in the mean time here are some layouts from the amazing ScrapMatters CT using photo vignettes:

By Christine (alamama)

By Amanda (Abhall76)

By Jami (alansrock)

By Jen (jendavey)

By Melody (melody)

So, now it’s your turn! I want you to try creating a vignette to use on a photo then scrap a page using that photo. Once you are done, upload the layout to the Saturday Special Gallery and link it back to this thread.

Just a reminder:
* You will earn one point for completing a layout. You can earn an EXTRA point for using a product that has been released in the seven days prior to posting your LO – but you have to tell me that you used a NEW product when you post so I don’t miss it!
* One lucky scrapper will be chosen to win an extra point!
* Your layout must be unique to this challenge – no double dipping.
* You have the rest of April to complete the layout.

I know I said it previously, but I absolutely can NOT wait to see what you amazingly talented scrappers have in store for me! Have a wonderful weekend…and Happy Scrapping!!

Waving hello to all hybrid chickies out there
Welcome to our new ‘It’s in the Cards’ challenge in April! This time I have this simple card template for you and hope you’ll enjoy playing with

You can download the template ***HERE***

To get your creativity juices flowing here are some awesome examples from our super talented creative team members

Here’s a beautiful card created by Melissa aka profiler_mar:

credits:
Sunday Afternoon by Trixie Scraps and Sarah Bennett

And look at this adorable card created by Maria aka Muss:

credits:
Happy Together kit by Gwenipooh Designs

And last but not least here’s another gorgeous card made by our super talented hybrid princess, Julie aka Juliemomof4:

credits:
A Spot of Tea by Denise Beatty Originals and Erica Zane

And here are the rules:
To earn your Matter of Scrap points for the month you need to photograph and upload your card to the Hybrid Challenge – It’s in the Cards gallery and post it in the challenge thread **here** by the end of the month (April).

If you use a new product within the week of it’s release please let me know so I can give you the extra point.

Wishing you lots of fun and hope to see lots and lots of entries

Hello everyone! It’s Cristina here with the Hybrid Highlights for April.

Every time I stop by the hybrid gallery I am amazed by the quality of the projects created by the members of the community here at ScrapMatters. If you create a hybrid project, make sure you upload it to the Hybrid Layouts and Projects gallery as well: you might be spotlighted in next month’s Hybrid Highlights!

Here are my picks for this month.
First off, this gorgeous mini album by Julie (juliemomof4) using Fly Free by Jennifer Barrette:

I love mini albums and this one is just adorable!

Next, I want to show you this stunning card by Jennifer (notes4theheart) using Something Beautiful After the Rain by Becca:

Amanda (Abhall76) decorated a purse – now isn’t that a clever idea? Here it is, using Memories of You by Designs by Sarah Bennett

Mary (Plum Dumpling Designs) made this set of cute magnets using Fizzy Fridays by Erica Zane:

And finally, I have to end by showing you this amazing project by Melissa (profiler_mar) who made this fabulous album using the Make It CD/DVD Album template by Krisi’s Kreations and The Ultimate Round Trip Ticket Bundle by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studio:

Now, doesn’t this make you want to take out your supplies and create?
Have a nice month!

Welcome to another round of Grand Theft Layout! This week we’ll be raiding the gallery of the wonderfully talented Sarah Bennett! To complete this challenge, you’ll need to browse through Sarah’s gallery and choose a layout to inspire a page of your own. Check out all the details at the GTL post in the forum.

I chose to lift her layout Chatterbox:

Here’s my layout:

Credits: Park Play Collab Kit by Jenn Barrette and Melissa Bennett at Scrap Matters

And here’s some inspiration from our fabulous CTs:

Sarah’s original

cnscrap’s lift

Using:
Alice and Alice Add-on, Miss Kitty, Enchantment and Pink Valentine by Britt-ish Designs; Banana Split by Britt-ish Designs and Gwenipooh Designs; I Felt Like It: Yellow Alpha by Chelle’s Creations; This is how I roll by Whimpy Chompers Creations; Simply Shaded Alpha by Kaye Winiecki

Sarah’s original

nanienamou’s lift

Sarah’s original

Hoo-rah’s lift

Credits: Go Green collab by Sarah Bennett and wm[squared]

Sarah’s original

cursivesmile’s lift

((using Make A Wish, & Birthday Word Art by Sahlin Studio & Valorie Wibbons))

Sarah’s original

kv2av’s lift

1,2,3,4.. Go! (set 2) by Sya’s Blueprints, Music of My Memories by ScrapMuss Designs, and Tiny Black Alpha (NEW) and Painted Alpha by Sahlin Studio

I can’t wait to see how Sarah’s layouts inspire you!
- Jaime